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S08.E05: Halloween 4: The Revenge of Rod Skyhook


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The Dunphy's try to kick start Luke's Halloween party; Cam confronts his Halloween nemesis.

Cam's chasing a kid who wanted extra Halloween was ridiculous. It wasn't funny, but showed him as a bad adult. 

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I felt Cam's speech was silly.  First of all, I feel Mitchell is very supportive of Cam in most things.  Secondly, I do not feel like you need to blindly support your spouse when they are acting like a stupid idiot.

Was I the only one who was annoyed at Claire ruining that poor girl's party, so everyone would go to Luke's Halloween bash?  Not a good episode.

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That's the thing, there is supporting your spouse and then there is just being stupid about things. It be like: "Well, I had to buy this stuff because it was on sale." Yet, it ends up just taking up space and would be sold a year or two on Ebay or something. Or: "But I want that too." Well, can't get everything we want in life. Have to move on. What is with Claire trying to ruin things when really, her kids could care less. Then you wonder why Alex can't handle college, Hailey is living in your basement aimless and Luke is so oblivious it's amazing he can still tie his shoes. 

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So I legit could not tell if that was Joe Polito playing Earl or not in all of the scenes. The voice didn't sound that much like him and than there was no real good shots of him including the scene with Jesus had him in a headlock which was oddly shot.

17 cents of candy is 1 inaccurate and 2. the kid was still a dick and Cam had good reason to think he threw an egg on him. Yes, it was ridiculous of Cam but the kid was still an asshole.

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4 minutes ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

IMDb has:  Robert Costanzo ... Earl Chambers

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt6074728/?ref_=ttep_ep_cur

More than a passing resemblance in full devil makeup.

Thanks didnt think to look there because it normally takes forever for them to have accurate guest star updates and my recording cut out before it showed the guest actors. I assumed based on when he died it probably wasn't him but it just seemed a weird storyline to do given the circumstances.

Edited by biakbiak
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2 minutes ago, biakbiak said:
7 minutes ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

IMDb has:  Robert Costanzo ... Earl Chambers

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt6074728/?ref_=ttep_ep_cur

More than a passing resemblance in full devil makeup.

Thanks didnt think to look there because it normally takes forever for them to have accurate guest star updates and my recording cut out before it showed the guest actors. I assumed based on when he died it probably wasn't him but it just seemed a weird storyline to do given the circumstances.

It really should be his last "appearance."

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I actually liked a lot about this episode. I thought the Jay and Gloria plot had a lot of laughs (possibly because it reminds me of a bunch of jokes I made about my friend dressing like Jesus a few Halloweens ago), and Hailee getting stoned was worth a few chuckles, and the Cam stuff was mostly saved by the 60s era Batman music playing in the background. Any reference to 60s Batman will get a few points from me. I guess I`m easy. 

On the other hand, the Phil and Claire's plot just made me feel weird, because it sets up why the Dumphy kids have so many issues. They all (even smart girl Alex) have a serious case of arrested development. None of them have really grown up, or they struggle with the adult world. Phil and Claire are constantly trying to solve all the kids problems, in ridiculous ways, even ridiculous for a sitcom. Claire running around screwing with that girls party just came off as weird and awkward. Sometimes, parties just dont work out, and parents should just be supportive of things not going well with Luke's party. Wont people realize that Claire is Luke's mom? Wont that he more embarrassed by his mom momming all over his classmates? And it sucks that Claire screwed over that random girl and ruined a party she clearly worked hard on and spent money on. I mean, it was never established that she was a jerk or anything, it was just Claire being selfish, and wont just let people naturally head over the Luke's party, or he could just call the party a bust and move on.

I will say, that empty party was pretty sad. A dud party is bad enough, but a dud Halloween party is even worse. Something about the costumes just makes everything sadder somehow.    

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This is the first episode this season that made me laugh.  I loved June Cleaver.  What the heck costume was Luke wearing?  And being a librarian, I loved that Alex was reading "The Dewey Decimal System" while reclining on the couch.  That said, I agree that the Dunphy kids are useless.  Haley is a waste of space, Alex is nothing but a ball of anxiety and depression, and I never thought Luke was stupid.  I think he's smart, but trapped.  And the actor that plays Manny couldn't act his way out of a paper bag.

I still love Cam.  And Jay.  And Phil.  And Lily, who looks 9 going on 16.  That girl is growing up fast.

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I liked this episode too.

Cam chasing after the kid while the Batman '66 theme plays was great.

I wondered if they had recast Earl and checked the closing credits to confirm that they had. I guess the rivalry between Jay and Earl is too good to drop, or end on a sad note with having the character die with the actor.

Alex' love/hate thing with Reuben always makes me laugh.

Gloria made a disturbingly hot Virgin Mary.

I'm glad Manny finally found a girl who is into the same stuff as he is. I hope he realizes it's better than pursuing every pretty face he sees.

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7 hours ago, biakbiak said:

Thanks didnt think to look there because it normally takes forever for them to have accurate guest star updates and my recording cut out before it showed the guest actors. I assumed based on when he died it probably wasn't him but it just seemed a weird storyline to do given the circumstances.

If your recording cut out, then you missed that the episode ended with an "in memory of Jon Polito" card.

If Jay was supposed to be Jesus because F. Joe had to be Joseph, then why didn't Jay dress up as "Baby Jesus"?

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I laughed because I did not get caught up in how inappropriate it was for Claire to torch that poor girl's party. On the other hand, the Cam thing was just sad and I  loved that the other dad was like "all this over 17 cents worth of candy?"

I also love when they build everything up around one line like having Earl be the Devil just so Jesus could get back "Soul" (albeit David Soul)-not as good as sending them to Australia so Phil could say "I am Crocodile Dun Fee" but pretty clever just the same.

Why was Alex reading a book about the Dewey Decimal System?

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Cam is so out of control and self centered, I find it irritating.  The batman costume and chase was funny, but chasing a kid over Halloween candy?  Come on.  ANd expecting your spouse to support your delusion, no matter what?  Crazy

I loved Claire and Phil's costumes and the final showed with earl.  I didn't realize it was not the original actor, even though I had heard he died about a month ago.  Wasn't sure if they filmed it before he passed away.  Sure looked like him. 

I also liked when Phil and Claire still really weren't sure what Haley does for a living, even though they had a whole episode on it a few weeks back. 

The Alex/Reuben thing I am not big on.  Its no wonder she doesn't have many friends and has so much trouble socially.  She's just mean most of the time. 

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15 minutes ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

 

Cam is so out of control and self centered, I find it irritating.  The batman costume and chase was funny, but chasing a kid over Halloween candy?  Come on.  ANd expecting your spouse to support your delusion, no matter what?  Crazy

 

He chased him not only over the candy but that he believed with good reaso  that the kid had hit him with an egg.

Perhaps its because have been at several kids parties recently with entitled brats who don't listen but I also would have been annoyed at kids taking more candy than they were told they could have. I wouldn't have chased him but might have if I thought he egged me.

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14 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

He chased him not only over the candy but that he believed with good reaso  that the kid had hit him with an egg.

Perhaps its because have been at several kids parties recently with entitled brats who don't listen but I also would have been annoyed at kids taking more candy than they were told they could have. I wouldn't have chased him but might have if I thought he egged me.

Even if he had hit him with an egg, Cam is a 40+ year old man.  Grow up, be an adult.  He is 9, its Halloween.  You chase him around the neighborhood?  ANd he continued to be just as upset about the candy as the egg throwing

And its the fact this is not just a one time thing.  Cam is the most insecure being on the planet.  Every little slight he gets upset over, as Mitch pointed out. 

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Alex was reading The Dewey Decimal System by Nathan Larson

From Amazon:

After a flu pandemic, a large-scale terrorist attack, and the total collapse of Wall Street, New York City is reduced to a shadow of its former self. As the city struggles to dig itself out of the wreckage, a nameless, obsessive-compulsive veteran with a spotty memory, a love for literature, and a strong if complex moral code (that doesn’t preclude acts of extreme violence) has taken up residence at the main branch of the New York Public Library on 42nd Street.

Dubbed "Dewey Decimal" for his desire to reorganize the library's stock, our protagonist (who will reappear in the next novel in this series) gets by as bagman and muscle for New York City's unscrupulous district attorney. Decimal takes no pleasure in this kind of civic dirty work. He'd be perfectly content alone amongst his books. But this is not in the cards, as the DA calls on Dewey for a seemingly straightforward union-busting job.

What unfolds throws Dewey into a bloody tangle of violence, shifting allegiances, and old vendettas, forcing him to face the darkness of his own past and the question of his buried identity.

With its high body count and snarky dialogue, The Dewey Decimal System pays respects to Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, and Jim Thompson. Healthy amounts of black humor and speculative tendencies will appeal to fans of Charlie Huston, Nick Tosches, Duane Swierczynski, Victor Gischler, Robert Ferrigno, and early Jonathan Lethem.
 

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10 hours ago, stcroix said:

Alex was reading The Dewey Decimal System by Nathan Larson

...

With its high body count and snarky dialogue, The Dewey Decimal System pays respects to Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, and Jim Thompson. Healthy amounts of black humor and speculative tendencies will appeal to fans of Charlie Huston, Nick Tosches, Duane Swierczynski, Victor Gischler, Robert Ferrigno, and early Jonathan Lethem.
 

It sounds perfect for Alex.

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I enjoyed the episode. The Dunphy's are world class bad parents so to see Claire wreck a party to save Luke's makes perfect sense. I'm glad their kids are a mess because they really would be. If Haley was suddenly successful or Alex wasn't a neurotic mess it would be unbelievable.

Jay and Gloria were hilarious. her comment about her husband going to hell and taking them all with them was funny. I also appreciate how far the show had to go to make the joke about the devil taking Jay's Soul. It was a long setup but it paid off.

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On 10/27/2016 at 9:23 PM, DrSpaceman73 said:

Even if he had hit him with an egg, Cam is a 40+ year old man.  Grow up, be an adult.  He is 9, its Halloween.  You chase him around the neighborhood?  ANd he continued to be just as upset about the candy as the egg throwing

And its the fact this is not just a one time thing.  Cam is the most insecure being on the planet.  Every little slight he gets upset over, as Mitch pointed out. 

I thought the kid was being an asshole.  Yes Cam was too, but just because it's 17 cents worth of candy didn't make it not rude.  

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14 minutes ago, Blakeston said:

I wanted to scream at Cameron, "If you don't want the kids to take more than one candy bar, then hand them each one candy bar, you dolt!"

Non entitled kids listen to adults when they tell them to take one, it allows the kid to choose what candy they want and not be an asshole. this system worked for me, my friends and family throughout my childhood and among the well mannered kids of my friends and family to this day.

If my mother found out that I took more candy than someone had told me to take, and she would have found out because of the close knit neighborhood, she would have taken all my candy and probably grounded me for a day.

Edited by biakbiak
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1 hour ago, biakbiak said:

Non entitled kids listen to adults when they tell them to take one, it allows the kid to choose what candy they want and not be an asshole. this system worked for me, my friends and family throughout my childhood and among the well mannered kids of my friends and family to this day.

If my mother found out that I took more candy than someone had told me to take, and she would have found out because of the close knit neighborhood, she would have taken all my candy and probably grounded me for a day.

It would be great if all kids were well-behaved and non-entitled. But if you're like Cameron, and you're infuriated by the idea of anyone taking more than one piece of candy, isn't just passing out the candy yourself preferable to giving kids access to all the candy, and then chasing them around the block if they break the rule?

In my experience, people who are present when the trick-or-treaters arrive virtually always  pass out candy themselves. Leaving the bowl out so kids can grab their own has been what people do when they aren't home.

Edited by Blakeston
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1 hour ago, Blakeston said:

It would be great if all kids were well-behaved and non-entitled. But if you're like Cameron, and you're infuriated by the idea of anyone taking more than one piece of candy, isn't just passing out the candy yourself preferable to giving kids access to all the candy, and then chasing them around the block if they break the rule?

In my experience, people who are present when the trick-or-treaters arrive virtually always  pass out candy themselves. Leaving the bowl out so kids can grab their own has been what people do when they aren't home.

He chased him because he thought he egged him. He initially just told him that even if was dressed like a villan didn't mean he had to act like one.

Our experience with Halloween candy differs! We usually got to choose sometimes one, sometimes multiples. This is also what I do know when I give out candy. there is always some weirdo who will take the milky ways that come in the pack.

Edited by biakbiak
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Not matter if he thought the kid threw the egg of if the kid took 10 candy bars, neither was worth trying to terrorize a child or ruining his own kid's enjoyment of the holiday. Cam is once agin a selfish jackass, family and others be damned. Cam gets what Cam wants, or the pouting and temper tantrum will commence. It wouldn't be cute if it was Lily, it certainly isn't cute on a grown ass man. 

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5 hours ago, Fostersmom said:

Not matter if he thought the kid threw the egg of if the kid took 10 candy bars, neither was worth trying to terrorize a child or ruining his own kid's enjoyment of the holiday. Cam is once agin a selfish jackass, family and others be damned. Cam gets what Cam wants, or the pouting and temper tantrum will commence. It wouldn't be cute if it was Lily, it certainly isn't cute on a grown ass man. 

Not only that, but then he complained when Mitch told him he was wrong for NOT SUPPORTING HIS LUNANCY, which is the most crazy of all. 

I agree with you and as I said before, even if the kid was being a jerk, its Halloween, and the kid is 9.  Cam is over 40.  Be an adult. 

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We struggle with the casual references to weed and alcohol use on this show. It started out pretty light. Now it seems as if Hailey is almost always mentioning weed, and between Jay/Claire/teens, alcohol use runs rampant. YMMV, but it takes the fun out of the show for us. 

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On 10/30/2016 at 0:00 PM, Nordly Beaumont said:

I loved Manny's "So I've been carrying this red herring around for nothing?"

Even though the show has been on for too long and should really end after this season, the writers still throw in really clever jokes like this (and the devil/"Soul" thing). Some of the writers I believe worked on Arrested Development so they really handle the wordplay and puns well. 

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On the other hand, the Phil and Claire's plot just made me feel weird, because it sets up why the Dumphy kids have so many issues. They all (even smart girl Alex) have a serious case of arrested development. None of them have really grown up, or they struggle with the adult world. Phil and Claire are constantly trying to solve all the kids problems, in ridiculous ways, even ridiculous for a sitcom.

Preach it. The Dunphy kids are laughably maladjusted, probably from years of Claire's helicopter parenting. She freaked the fuck out in the episode where Luke WHO WAS 14 was left home alone for a couple of hours. Or when all 3 kids were alone in the house on a normal afternoon for a brief while. Or when she would make their lunches even though two of them had moved out. Or when they lack basic skills such as using a broom (Alex) or cooking (Haley) or anything else.

They're really just a very immature, very sheltered bunch of upper-middle-class suburbanite teenagers with a stay-at-home mom (at least for all of their childhoods).

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 I guess the rivalry between Jay and Earl is too good to drop, or end on a sad note with having the character die with the actor.

I wonder if they already had this script in the pipeline and just decided to "hide" Earl as much as possible. I bet we won't see Earl again.

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The thing that disappointed me most about the Cam/kid taking more than one story wasn't Cam's immaturity, but the missed opportunity to tie back to the 1st Halloween ep when Cam told his "traumatic" story of his childhood Halloween, when he was blamed for taking all the candy in the "just take one" bowl.  To me, that would have worked better than suddenly giving Cam a candy problem (sugar high/emotional crash), when we've seen him eat half a box of Valentine's Day candy and not go sobby afterward.

That 'red herring' line did kill though.  Best line of the episode.

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This episode was okay.. I don't know. The magic is wearing thin but that may be expected. The show has been on for quite a bit. The shelf life on shows doesn't go on as long anymore.  

Lily is by far my favorite character. Her delivery is always the best.

Edited by WhosThatGirl
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22 minutes ago, Giuseppe said:

Where exactly does one get a large costume tub for a Trumbo costume?

Amazon or in my case at the party store across the street from my apartment. For wealthy LA people in a variety of Halloween shops/custome rental places.

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